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Academy Update

It was announced today that Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy players MF Sebastian Saucedo and GK Christian Herrera have been called up to the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team to participate in the Copa del Atlantico in Las Palmas, Spain. The U.S. is making its first appearance in the esteemed international tournament that runs from Jan. 30-Feb. 8. The Americans will face Spain on Feb. 4, Argentina on Feb. 5 and the Canary Islands on Feb. 7.

Thirteen players out of the 18-player roster are currently registered with Academy teams, with four MLS Academies represented. The Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy is the only Academy to have more than one player named to the U-18 squad.

The Claret-and-Cobalt’s MF Sebastian Saucedo and GK Christian Herrera were among the 24 players called into U.S. Under-18 MNT Head Coach Javier Perez’s January training camp in preparation for the tournament. Saucedo and Herrera have guided the RSL-Arizona U-16 Academy team to a 10-1-1 start through twelve league matches. Saucedo leads the team in scoring with ten goals while Herrera has earned eight clean sheets.

Four Real Salt Lake Academy products were named last week to a 36-player roster for the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team’s training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. RSL FW Benji Lopez and DF Jordan Allen, as well as RSL-AZ Academy grad and University of Louisville MF Andrew Brody and current RSL-AZ U-18 player and Stanford University commit MF Corey Baird will all participate in the team’s domestic training camp, which will run from Jan. 3-12.

Lopez, the fourth player to graduate from the RSL-Arizona Academy to the first-team, joined Real Salt Lake on July 17, 2013. The 18-year-old featured for the Real Salt Lake Reserves four times this year, scoring one goal in the Reserves’ 3-2 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC Reserves on July 16. Lopez began his stint in Casa Grande in the fall of 2011, excelling in the youth setup and helping lead RSL-AZ to strong finishes in both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Allen signed a Homegrown contract with RSL on Dec. 31, 2013, following the completion of a successful freshman season at the University of Virginia. Allen, 18, played at the Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy from August 2011-December 2012. The Rochester, N.Y. native was named the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy Player of the Year, USSDA Western Conference Player of the Year and earned a spot on the USSDA Starting XI Team of the Year for the 2011-2012 season. This past fall, Allen started all 24 of UVA’s matches, helping lead the Cavaliers to the 2013 NCAA College Cup Semifinal. A third-team All-ACC selection, an All-ACC Freshman Team selection and a second-team NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region Team pick, Allen had three goals and a team-high five assists for UVA from his spot in the midfield.

A University of Louisville freshman, Brody was a fixture for the Cardinals last season, playing and starting all 20 games and notching three goals and eight assists. The midfielder helped Louisville advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2013 NCAA College Cup. Brody played for the RSL-Arizona Academy team in 2012 and 2013, participated in last year’s RSL preseason camp and featured three times in 2013 for the Real Salt Lake Reserves.

Currently with the RSL-AZ U-18’s, Baird had been a fixture with the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team prior to this U-20 call up. Baird featured in all three matches for the U-18 national team in an international tournament in France last October. Baird will begin his college career next fall at Stanford.

Three Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy players were among the 24 players called last week into the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team by head coach Javier Perez. RSL-AZ DF Justen Glad, M/F Sebastian Saucedo and GK Christian Herrera were all called up to Perez’s squad, which will train in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. from Jan. 4-11 ahead of next month’s Copa del Atlantico international tournament in the Canary Islands.

The Claret-and-Cobalt’s DF Justen Glad, M/F Sebastian Saucedo and GK Christian Herrera were among twenty-one out of the twenty-four players who currently play for a U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Nine MLS Academies are represented with Real Salt Lake receiving the most call-ups.

Glad, Saucedo and Herrera have guided the RSL U-16 team to a 8-1-1 start through ten league matches. Saucedo leads the team in scoring with eight goals while Herrera has earned seven clean sheets. Glad anchors a backline that has yet to concede a goal at home and has only surrendered four goals all season.

The Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-16 and U-18 teams have dominated their opposition so far this season and have posted some impressive numbers in the process.

Here are a few interesting numbers from the 10 matches each team has played in the 2013-14 season:

2.50

The U-16 Academy team has the third highest points per game average in the nation for their age group with an average of 2.50. The team has recorded eight wins, one loss and one draw through 10 matches this year and currently sits atop the Southwest Division.

3.6

The U-16 Academy team is currently averaging 3.6 goals per game, which is the best in the nation for their age group and the U-18 group as well.

.4

The U-16 Academy team has a .4 goals against average per game which is the second best in the nation for their age group.

The total number of goals scored by both the U-16 and U-18 Academy teams. Their attack has been very diverse this season with 20 different Academy players finding the back of the net.

11

The total number of clean sheets the U-16 and U-18 Academy teams have recorded. U-16 Academy goalkeeper Christian Herrera has notched seven shutouts and U-18 Academy goalkeeper Luis “Wicho” Barraza has recorded four.

46

The number of players who have made at least one appearance for the U-16 and/or U-18 Academy teams.

In the short three-year history of the Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy, the U-16 and U-18 Academy teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season. Nine players with ties to the Academy have signed professional contracts and over 40 graduates are currently playing collegiate soccer.

In July 2013, the U-16 Academy team defeated Solar Chelsea 4-2 in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Championship game, becoming the first residential academy program to capture a Development Academy title.

Tryout sessions will be held at the Grande Sports Academy on the following dates:

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. - The Real Salt Lake-Arizona U-16 and U-18 teams will open the 2013-14 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season this Saturday, traveling to Sacramento to take on San Juan Soccer Club.

The U-16 squad is the defending U.S. Soccer Development Academy champions after they defeated Solar Chelsea 4-2 in the U-16 championship match in July 2013. Both sides are looking to qualify for the USSDA playoffs for the fourth-straight year.

Saturday's Academy matches will be held at Mather Soccer Complex - North Field. Kick off for the U-18 match is set for 12 p.m. MT and the U-16 match will begin at 2:30 p.m. MT.

The Real Salt Lake U-16 Elite squad is also going to be on the road this weekend, as are set to travel to Scottsdale, Ariz. for their first match in the Arizona State League. The Claret-and-Cobalt will square off against SC del Sol 98 at Scottsdale Sports Complex; kickoff set for 9:25 a.m. PST.

Four Real Salt Lake Academy players have been invited to a U-18 MNT camp at the U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Los Angeles, California. The camp takes place Sept. 22-29

GSA Exports is a regular feature where we track the progress of our former players who are playing at the college and professional levels. Here is a list of eight players who areplaying professionally in five different countries and here is another list of over 40 academy graduates who combined to score four goals and assist on eight goals in the first week of college soccer.

Following Wednesday's training, assistant coach Mike Kraus and players Fito Ovalle and Jose Hernandez shared their thoughts on the Academy teams, expectations for this year and how things have been different in training.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – Under-18 MNT head coach Javier Perez has called up 36 players for a week-long camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, California. Included in the call up are four Real Salt Lake Academy players: defender Justen Glad, midfielder Corey Baird and forwards Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo.

The camp takes place September 22-29 and will feature an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday, September 25th, as well as two matches on Saturday, September 28th, against local club sides. Following the camp, Perez will select a 18-player roster to travel from October 6th-14th to represent the U.S. at a four-team tournament in Limoges, France.

Last season, Glad, Lennon and Saucedo played for the U-16 RSL Academy team. All three players scored a goal in a 4-2 win over Solar Chelsea in the U-16 U.S. Soccer Development Final in July 2013.

Glad and Baird were teammates at the U-17 MNT Residency program in Bradenton, Florida earlier this year and both made the 2013 U-17 CONCACAF Championship squad.

Perez has called a contingent of players born in 1996 and 1997, 33 of which have ties to U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy as current or former players.

In addition, Glad, Lennon and Saucedo are one of 25 players who participated the National Combine in August at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

GSA Exports is a regular feature where we track the progress of our former players who are playing at the college and professional levels. Here is a list of eight players who are playing professionally in five different countries and here is another list of over 40 academy graduates who combined to score four goals and assist on eight goals in the first week of college soccer.

The Real Salt Lake U-16 & U-18 Elite teams competed in their first tournament of the 2013-14 season. Recap of the 2013 North Huntington Beach Cup for the U-18 Elite team and a recap for the U-16 Elite team.

Real Salt Lake called up four academy players for their Reserve League match against Portland Timbers last Saturday. Each player saw some minutes in the match and impressed in their brief appearances.

Meet the newest residency players in our introduction Q & A. Part 1 and part 2.

Former GSA graduate Mikey Orellana is looking to put injuries behind him as he enters his first professional season with historic Danish club Brondby IF.

Four academy players were invited to participate in a U.S. Soccer National Combine from August 9-13 at Nike’s World Headquarters in Portland.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – The Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy has announced August tryout dates for players born in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 years.

The tryouts will be held from Friday, Aug. 9th to Sunday, Aug. 11th at the Grande Sports Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Real Salt Lake sets the standard for imaginative, efficient soccer and the Grande Sports Academy/Real Salt Lake – Arizona teams run with the same philosophy. Soccer tryout are scheduled throughout the year to join the Real Salt Lake-AZ family.

As a member of the Real Salt Lake-Arizona family you will train like a professional, while developing your game in the US Soccer Development Academy system, the highest level of youth soccer in the United States.

We seek young student-athletes who want to be the best they can be. With exposure to many professional and college soccer coaches, our goal is to help you meet your soccer and academic dreams.

Real Salt Lake is not eliminated with the loss, but the team has lost control of the group. For Real Salt Lake to advance to the championship game on Saturday, they need to beat Texans SC, and the Dynamo need to lose or draw with Albertson SC. Both games will be played on Thursday night.

The Houston Dynamo earned a foul just 58 seconds into the match, and converted the free-kick moments later when it was perfectly placed in the upper right corner.

RSL shook off the early deficit and started to attack, but the movements lacked purpose and at times were a little sloppy before another stroke of luck happened. For the second consecutive game, officials stopped the match due to a lightning storm that passed over the field. The 77 minute delay allowed RSL coaches to reorganize the team and it showed once the game was back up and running.

RSL earned a penalty in the 29th minute when Damian German was taken down in the box. Moises Rodriguez stepped up and hit the post on the ensuing spot-kick.

After the halftime break the Dynamo looked to extend their lead and had their second shot of the game in the 41st minute that went wide right. RSL then earned a free-kick seven minutes later from a dangerous spot in front of the net. Bofo Saucedo stepped up and sent in a curling shot that was saved by the Dynamo goalkeeper.

Because RSL had to push players forward to equalize, the defense at times became exposed. There were two nerve-racking moments in the second half that could have been called for penalties against RSL. The first was in the 55th minute and the second in the 64th. Both times the ref was uninterested in the pleas coming from the Dynamo bench.

As the game continued RSL had chances but could not get a clean look on the net. Three different headers were saved by the Dynamo goalkeeper and the next best chance on goal - a free-kick from Brooks Lennon - was saved again in the closing minutes.

RSL sent players forward in stoppage time, but it was not enough as the Dynamo outlasted them.

Next game for RSL will be against Texans SC on Thursday night. Kickoff at 5:30 p.m. MT.